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The Dust Bowl

• lack of grass • drought • location ••Well, the Great Depression of the 1930s was one of the main factors that caused the Dust Bowl of the same period but it was not the MAIN CONTRIBUTING factor that lead to the ecological disaster. The other guilty parties like the unusually high temperatures of the environment, the lengthened droughts during the 1930s and also the poor agricultural farming practices made by the farmer, which lead to the top-soil eroding rapidly, increasing the devastation of the DB The poor farming practices made by the inexperienced or ignorant farmers caused many of the fertile top-soils to be blown away by the wind, leaving the land inhospitable for growing crops and any other basic necessities. This was the main catalyst for the "black blizzards" to hit America and disrupt many of their lives. •The main causes of the dust bowl were extreme drought for eight years in total, and also very poor farming techniques on the behalf of the inhabitants. Normally crops are rotated (different crops are grown in an area each year or sometimes no crops at all) so as to never deplete soil too much. This was never done in the Dustbowl area, where the land was farmed to death leaving nothing to secure topsoil, creating this massive amount of dust to be blown huge distances by the wind. •The Dust Bowl brought ecological, economical and human misery to America during a time when it was already suffering under the Great Depression. While the economic decline caused by the Great Depression played a role, it was hardly the only guilty party. What circumstances conspired to cause the Dust Bowl? Economic depression coupled with extended drought, unusually high temperatures, poor agricultural practices and the resulting wind erosion all contributed to making the Dust Bowl. The seeds of the Dust Bowl may have been sowed during the early 1920s. A post-World War I recession led farmers to try new mechanized farming techniques as a way to increase profits. Many...

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...As part of a five-state region affected by severe drought and soil erosion, the "DustBowl" as it was called was result of several factors. Cyclical drought and farming of marginally productive acreage was exacerbated by a lack of soil conservation methods. Because the disaster lasted throughout the 1930's, the lives of every Plains resident and expectations of farming the region changed forever.
The settlement and development of the Southern Plains came relatively late. Not recognizing the problems of initiating massive agricultural programs meant farmers had no back up plans when the drought hit. Historian Donald Worster suggests they had "A Sense of Invulnerability":
"Around World War I they were talking about upsetting the balance of nature on the plains. People were worried about insect outbreaks, I think, more than anything else. But nobody had seen dust storms of a scale that the 30's would bring. Indians came along and told people to leave the grass where it was. There may have been a few obscure individuals who worried about what was going on. But most of the people living in the area were pretty well caught up in the dream of progress and turning this place into a breadbasket. So if there were misgivings, they were not being published.... I think particularly in the 20's when the great plow-up occurred, there was an enormous sense of invulnerability, at least in official circles, and I think to a large extent among...

...﻿Gabrielle Payne
Ms. Molise
10/10/13
Causes of the Dustbowl
In the year 1930 America’s economy was in a state of depression. The last thing America needed at this time was a catastrophic event to destroy the economy even more, but that is exactly what they got. The “DustBowl” drought is one of the worst climatic events in the history of the United States drought which devastated the United States central states region known as the Great Plains. The DustBowl worsened the already depressed American economy in the 1930's, causing millions of dollars in damages. What caused this catastrophic event that put the central states in such a state of poverty?
You cannot understand the DustBowl without understanding the ecology of The Great Plains. The plains are wavelike, gently sloping down from the Rocky Mountains towards the East. The Great Plains have not always been as dry as they are today. In fact it is believed that the plains formed from a shallow inland sea. They believe this because they have found fossils of sea shells and fish. The small slope is caused by the buildup of soil and stones washed down from the Rockies. There are trees, mostly cottonwoods, which grow along the river banks in the Great Plains. The Great Plains has extreme, violent weather. The weather can change from heavenly to hell like weather in just one moment. Since there are no trees to block the wind,...

...The DustBowl of the 1930s
The decade that became known as the "Dirty Thirties" was literally quite what its name implied-dirty! During the period of 1930-1940, located in the heart of the Great Plains of the United States, was a series of massive dust storms and long-term drought. Another well-earned nickname this region was known for was the DustBowl. The Great Depression occurred at this time as well and added to the suffering placed upon the many poor farmers of the Southwest region. What could have caused one of the worst and longest droughts in recent U.S. history? Unfortunately, decades of human influence from bad farming practices, loss of soil moisture, and depletion of vegetation helped create wind-blown erosion that shaped the massive dust storms and severe droughts. Other natural causes were unusual weather patterns: warmer Atlantic and colder Pacific sea-surface temperatures, feedback mechanisms from dry air, and a strong jet stream confined to the north of a continental high pressure system that left little chance for rainfall.
Many of the residents of the Great Plains during the DustBowl were poor farmers reliant on agriculture to sustain their income and family’s well being. An usually wet season before the 1930s brought many farmers to the central U.S. to cultivate and settle the area. Unfortunately, the climate and soil conditions...

...The DustBowl
The rain went dry, and the Black Blizzard arose. Severe drought whipped across the Southern Plains. Strong dust storms carrying millions of tons of dirt covered every inch of the Southern Plains. Was this the weather acting out of character, or were farmers to blame for this catastrophic event? Intense decades of poor farming techniques with combined the drought caused the shattering disaster in the Southern Plains.
There were numerous events that led up to the DustBowl. One of which was the passage of the Homestead Act after the Civil War, this act allowed farmers to own larger amounts of land for very little money(“DustBowl”). Stated in the article “Blown Away”, “pioneers were encouraged to move westward, lured by advertisements depicting a bountiful Garden of Eden where grapes grew to the size of bowling balls and watermelons became as big as automobiles”. The start of World War 1 drove the demand and prices for cash crops, including wheat, to record highs (“DustBowl”). World War 1 encouraged farmers to hurriedly and dramatically increase cultivation (Klein). Modern technology, such as the invention of tractors, helped quicken the renovation in the 1920’s (“Blown Away”). “A Farmer with a team of horses would be happy to plow three acres a day. With a tractor, he could easily plow 50 acres a day” (“Dust...

...Causes of the DustBowl
One of the most devastating environmental crises that occurred in the United States was the DustBowl. The DustBowl began shortly after the Great Depression began in 1929 and lasted throughout the 1930's. It affected everyone, farmers and consumers alike, in its path negatively. The DustBowl of the 1930's was caused by four major factors: drought, climate misconception, poor land management, and most importantly, wind erosion.
The first of the four major factors is drought. During the DustBowl and the 1930's there were four major periods of drought. The first lasted from 1930 to 1931, the second occurred in 1934, the third in 1936, and the last period of drought lasted from 1939 to 1940. The Great Plains had experienced periods of drought before and no major problems had occurred, so the main problem was that the farmers did not have enough time in between the periods of drought to recover because they were so close together. Another issue was that the droughts occurred at the same time as the economic downfall known as the Great Depression. This meant the farmers did not have the money to spend to help their crops. Also, many farmers simply believed that the droughts would end and that the rains would come soon as they had many other times in the 1900's (Drought).
Climate misconception played a large role...

...﻿Not only was the “DustBowl” one of the most devastating climatic events in American history, we cannot even comfortably call it a natural disaster. Rather, it was us, humanity, who played a major role in bringing this calamity upon on ourselves. Indeed, one does not need to look further than the 20th century to see that human activity may in fact have immediate consequences on climate. In particular, situations can be exacerbated when in unison with the forces of natures. What would otherwise have been a drought, the Dust of Bowl of the 1930’s intensified due to increasing human agitation. Nonetheless, it is still disputed today that the causal relationship between humans and the environment is exaggerated. Many skeptics even assert that the ability of humans to seriously affect climate is merely the imaginings of alarmists motivated by paranoia and sinister political agendas. While this paper does not attempt to discuss modern climate change, it does aim to validate the concept that humans, albeit only complex primates, have the power to wreak havoc on the planet and in turn, ourselves. Hopefully, as we see that it has happened before in recent history, we will not be so quick to sweep this notion like dust under the rug. Therefore, in order to appreciate the gravity of our own capabilities within our environmental context, this paper will explore the Dust Bowl’s manmade and natural...

...to sweep up dust that blew into homes at night. Nearly starving from lack of food and water then going broke and living without a home with family's to care for. We'll that was life during the DustBowl having to face the Great Depression and loving in the Southern Plains.The DustBowl was a very unexpected tragedy that hit America in the 1930 lasting a whole decade. The dustbowl accrued mostly of high climates mixing with the broken down jet stream in Mexico created weather for a drought season. Then came loving in the Southern Plains during the DustBowl which was difficult because many areas lacked water and food supply. Many farmers went broke trying to keep up with the Great Depression which dried up most of the land. "Dust landed on homes like snow." Said Jim Durrand. Since most food supply was down living in the time of the DustBowl was difficult.
The DustBowl happened mainly in the southern area of the Untied States of America. The DustBowl lasted from 1931 until 1939 which was almost a whole decade. Most family's that lived in the southern Plains moved to California or went to the Noethern Plains. Even though Northern Plains did not go through the DustBowl a lack of food and water did damage many people. Many...

...Remembering the DustBowl
The DustBowl was a significant event in our country's history that had various lasting effects on American Society. Social, economic, and political changes occurred because of this disastrous and difficult time in America. The DustBowl was a turning point in the Great Plaines, moreover, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, and a small portion of Texas. It changed life as Americans knew it during the 1930’s. It created a large economic and agricultural recession. This left the United States in a greater deficit than it previously stood which was originally created by the Great Depression. The DustBowl retrieved its name after Black Sunday on April 14, 1935. Prior to 1935 many dust storms had occurred. In 1932 a calculation of fourteen dust storms were recorded in the Plains and by 1938 there were a total of 38 storms recorded. The DustBowl is described as one of the most catastrophic events of the early 1900s. The Great Plains was a region of the United States that witnessed 100 million acres of topsoil being stripped from over used farmland. It was characterized by many factors such as poor farming practices, severe wind storms, and droughts lasting several years. It was an immense and powerful storm that literally covered the Midwest and blanketed many states by making...